Underwood questions Mullin on ICE deaths; HRW reports 52 since Jan 2025
Source: The Congressional Report · All The Congressional Report reports
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Topics in this report
Summary
The segment covers a June 25, 2026 House Appropriations subcommittee hearing where Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) questioned DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin on deaths in ICE custody. Underwood highlighted medical neglect, a record 2025 death toll, the HRW/PHR 'Dying in Detention' report released that day documenting 52 deaths since January 2025, doubled mortality rates, and gaps in public death reporting since April 28, 2026. Mullin disputed the numbers as inaccurate, cited a 0.009% death rate and better staffing ratios than Illinois state prisons, and defended medical care. The chair intervened over interruptions. Underwood referenced a prior ICE director response and requested the report be entered into the record.
Editorial Assessment
The broadcast accurately relays the hearing exchange and substantiates Underwood's statistical assertions via the contemporaneous HRW/PHR report and corroborating analyses from AP, Reuters, and KFF. Viewers receive clear documentation of elevated deaths and transparency concerns but less detail on administration arguments about population-adjusted rates, ongoing reporting of in-custody deaths, or comparisons to prior administrations' peaks. The selective emphasis on one side's framing and omission of broader context around policy shifts (e.g., rescinding post-release reviews) risks skewing perception toward systemic failure without balancing scale or counter-data. Overall claims hold up to primary sources, though the presentation prioritizes critique.
Key Moments
52 deaths in ICE custody from Jan 20 2025 to June 4 2026; mortality rate more than doubled
Directly from HRW/PHR 'Dying in Detention' report released June 25 2026, corroborated by AP, Reuters, KFF analyses.
ICE death reporting not updated since April 28 2026
Confirmed in hearing coverage and ICE site data; policy change ended post-release 30-day reviews.
Death rate 0.009% or 0.008%; no spike beyond population growth
Matches DHS spokesperson statements and Mullin testimony; consistent with admin data releases.
ICE has no specific policy to reduce deaths in custody
Underwood referenced prior ICE director admission; Mullin asserted strong medical protocols and staffing.
Notable Concerns
- One-sided narration framing
- Limited inclusion of Mullin data points on rates and staffing
Sources Consulted
- Dying in Detention: Rising Deaths in an Expanding US Immigration Detention System
- US: Deaths in ICE Custody Surge Under Trump
- Lauren Underwood Fiery Hearing Battle With Markwayne Mullin
- Report: ICE detainee deaths surge in Trump's 2nd term
- Deaths and Health Care Issues in ICE Detention Centers Under the Second Trump Administration
- Death rate in ICE immigrant detention centers more than doubles under Trump, Reuters analysis finds
- ICE will no longer report deaths of detainees after release from custody
- Mullin refutes ICE detention death statistics in heated clash with Lauren Underwood